LETTER: Capitalists, conservatives use health care law as cover

I am responding to David Nemirow's Oct. 14 letter on health care reform.

Granted, some businesses have made unethical responses to Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. They could have offered health insurance to their low-wage workers and taken advantage of generous tax breaks under the act. However, reducing hours for some workers does not reduce the total amount of work that needs to be completed. There is a large pool of unemployed people who will be anxious to take one of the new part-time positions that will be created.

Of course, a cut in wages would make many employees eligible for the Medicaid expansion. However, thanks to Gov. Bill Haslam and other state-level Republicans, many states will not be participating in the expansion.

Moreover, some businesses have lied about how much the Affordable Care Act will affect them. Most famously, John Schnatter, the CEO of Papa John's, claimed that the act would increase his company's costs by 14 cents per pizza. An independent audit showed the actual increase would be 3.5 cents per pizza. The CEO of Murray Energy fired 160 workers, claiming that act made him do it. Independent analysis showed that increased demand for natural gas relative to coal played a larger role.

That raises a larger question. When capitalists and conservatives rant about the downsides of the Affordable Care Act, how much of that is real, and how much is just cover to do what they want to do anyway?

Finally, GOP's hands are not clean when it comes to PPACA. If they had allowed the Democrats to pass the law without opposition, they could make that claim. The GOP has been obstructing change. Even when the Democrats have offered legislative solutions to the act's bugs, the GOP insists that full-scale repeal is the only option. They even threatened a suicidal default on our national debt if they didn't get their way.

DAVID CARRIGAN

Memphis 38104

Former Clarksville resident

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LETTER: Capitalists, conservatives use health care law as cover

I am responding to David Nemirow's Oct. 14 letter on health care reform.

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